State works at plan to halt outbreak

Wisconsin continues to struggle to come to grips with the recent
outbreak of chronic wasting disease in whitetail deer.

On Tuesday, Gov. Scott McCallum called the disease "the most
serious animal health crisis in our history."

McCallum announced that he will call the Legislature into special
session this week after legislative leaders agreed on a plan to
combat the disease.

The plan calls for providing the Department of Natural Resources
with $4 million for testing, equipment, staff and other
disease-fighting efforts; targeting $901,600 in
Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory money to attack the
disease; and authorizing the DNR to allow state or federal officials
to shoot deer from roadways and
helicopters to manage the disease, at least until Sept. 1, 2003.
Meanwhile, Representative DuWayne Johnsrud (R-Eastman), chairman of
the Assembly Natural
Resources Committee, has called for the DNR to ban feeding and
baiting of deer, statewide. Feeding and baiting have been linked to
the spread of the disease.

'Logical steps' needed

"To be successful in eradicating this disease, we have to take
logical steps to reduce the risk of CWD spreading outside the
affected area," Johnsrud said.

Johnsrud also called for:

-- The DNR to ban the use of deer-attracting scents using deer
urine or other deer fluids, saying that prions, the mutant proteins
that cause chronic wasting disease,
are present in the urine and other fluids of infected deer.

-- The Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
to ban transfer of captive live deer and elk, or carcasses or parts,
within the state.

"Now is the time to be aggressive and proactive statewide,"
Johnsrud said. "These measures are necessary at least until we can
bring CWD under control."

Earlier this month, more than 2,000 people attended the first of
five DNR informational meeting on the disease in Mount Horeb. All 14
of the deer that have tested
positive for the disease were found in the Mount Horeb area. Another
250 people attended a second meeting in Eau Claire Wednesday.

Additional meetings are scheduled for 7 p.m. May 14 at
Rhinelander High School, 315 S. Oneida Ave.; May 15 at Waukesha
County Expo Center, 100 Northview Road; and
May 16 in Green Bay at Southwest High School Auditorium, 1331 Packard Drive.

While concern about the disease abounds, Tom Heberlein, emeritus
professor of rural sociology at the University of Wisconsin, sees
potential for some positive outcomes.

"Generally we don't do much social change unless there's a crisis,"
said Heberlein, who has studied deer hunters and hunting for more
than 20 years. "Then things move
very fast."

Heberlein believes it's time for wildlife watchers to start
paying for the privilege of feeding deer.

"In the history of wildlife management, programs have largely
been funded by consumptive users -- hunters and anglers," he said.
"The non-consumptive users haven't
been paying their share."

Heberlein does not oppose a temporary ban of baiting and feeding.

"You could have a temporary ban, and then go back and see how to
do it (regulate feeding)," Heberlein said.

He suggests establishing some type of permit or licensing process
for those who feed deer, with proceeds going to wildlife management.
Another option would be for the
state to sell the only legal feed, and use the proceeds to fight
chronic wasting disease.

Benefits seen

Heberlein also sees potential social benefits to the lower deer
densities that are expected to result from the disease. A reduced
deer population will not only reduce crop
damage and car-deer collisions, it will improve the individual
hunting experience, he believes.

"Scarcity of game is part of the attraction of hunting," he said.
"It's overcoming scarcity. We've got so many deer right now that you
see people doing things to create the
challenge -- hunting only big bucks, using handguns, bows or
muzzleloaders. All that is in response to high deer densities.
Chronic wasting disease is an excuse to
reduce deer densities."

In a related development, Whitetails Unlimited announced that the
organization has established a national fund to help pay for research
into chronic wasting disease,
and is donating $50,000 in matching funds.

"The appearance of chronic wasting disease east of the
Mississippi River is a troubling new development in the progression
of the disease," said Peter J. Gerl,
executive director of the conservation organization, headquartered
in Sturgeon Bay.

Gerl said that Whitetails Unlimited would pay administrative
costs and all donations would go to the research. Donations can be
sent to: CWD Research, Whitetails
Unlimited, P.O. Box 720, Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235. Call the
organization at (800) 274-5471.

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